Jane Badger Books
Gillian Baxter
Gillian Baxter wrote her first book, Horses and Heather, when she was 15. Much of her writing was based on her own experience. 
As well loving horses, she was a keen actor, and wrote a children’s novel, The Knightsgate Players, based on acting. She enjoyed fast cars, which made an appearance in Ribbons and Rings. Like her heroine in Tan and Tarmac, she lived in London (Kensington) and rode in Hyde Park.
Gillian Baxter wrote two series of books: the Bracken Stables trilogy, and the Magic and Moonshine series, about a pair of driving ponies. Both these series appeared in paperback, together with Horses in the Glen and Ribbons and Rings.
The Bracken Stables Trilogy (Jump to the Stars, The Difficult Summer and The Perfect Horse) is about Roberta, her showjumping mare Shelta, and the Bracken Hills Riding Stables, run by Guy Mathews. The books were aimed at slightly older readers than the Jill books. Bobby (Roberta) is nearly at the end of her school career when the series opens, and she eventually leaves education to work at Bracken Stables.
In this she is unlike Ruby Ferguson’s Jill, who meekly agreed to do a secretarial course. Roberta wants to work with horses and goes ahead and does it. There are boys in the Jill books, but as friends only, whereas there are relationships in many of Gillian Baxter’s books: unsurprisingly perhaps, as many of her books are about girls in their late teens and early twenties.
Gillian Baxter did not restrict herself to one particular horsey field: the Bracken Stable series is about showjumping and eventing. The Team from Low Moor centres on the Prince Phillip Cup, and The Stables at Hampton is possibly the first novel exclusively concerned with dressage,
In the 1970s she switched publishers and started writing a series aimed at younger children. This was the Magic and Moonshine series: Pantomime Ponies, Save the Ponies!, Ponies by the Sea, Ponies in Harness and Ponies to the Rescue.
Bargain Horses is the last of Gillian Baxter’s works under her name; after this date she wrote for D C Thomson. Bargain Horses was part of a series J A Allen published in the 1980s, aimed at the horsey teenager. It is generally a very strong and readable series, but Bargain Horses is my favourite. It’s a very believable story about a teenage girl struggling with a mother addicted to buying bargain horses; hopeless cases most of them. It’s a testament to the strength of Gillian Baxter’s writing that she can create believable teenagers 30 years apart.
As well loving horses, she was a keen actor, and wrote a children’s novel, The Knightsgate Players, based on acting. She enjoyed fast cars, which made an appearance in Ribbons and Rings. Like her heroine in Tan and Tarmac, she lived in London (Kensington) and rode in Hyde Park. Gillian Baxter wrote two series of books: the Bracken Stables trilogy, and the Magic and Moonshine series, about a pair of driving ponies. Both these series appeared in paperback, together with Horses in the Glen and Ribbons and Rings.
The Bracken Stables Trilogy (Jump to the Stars, The Difficult Summer and The Perfect Horse) is about Roberta, her showjumping mare Shelta, and the Bracken Hills Riding Stables, run by Guy Mathews. The books were aimed at slightly older readers than the Jill books. Bobby (Roberta) is nearly at the end of her school career when the series opens, and she eventually leaves education to work at Bracken Stables.
In this she is unlike Ruby Ferguson’s Jill, who meekly agreed to do a secretarial course. Roberta wants to work with horses and goes ahead and does it. There are boys in the Jill books, but as friends only, whereas there are relationships in many of Gillian Baxter’s books: unsurprisingly perhaps, as many of her books are about girls in their late teens and early twenties.
Gillian Baxter did not restrict herself to one particular horsey field: the Bracken Stable series is about showjumping and eventing. The Team from Low Moor centres on the Prince Phillip Cup, and The Stables at Hampton is possibly the first novel exclusively concerned with dressage,
In the 1970s she switched publishers and started writing a series aimed at younger children. This was the Magic and Moonshine series: Pantomime Ponies, Save the Ponies!, Ponies by the Sea, Ponies in Harness and Ponies to the Rescue.
Bargain Horses is the last of Gillian Baxter’s works under her name; after this date she wrote for D C Thomson. Bargain Horses was part of a series J A Allen published in the 1980s, aimed at the horsey teenager. It is generally a very strong and readable series, but Bargain Horses is my favourite. It’s a very believable story about a teenage girl struggling with a mother addicted to buying bargain horses; hopeless cases most of them. It’s a testament to the strength of Gillian Baxter’s writing that she can create believable teenagers 30 years apart.
Finding the books:
Easy to find: Bargain Horses: Horses in the Heather, Horses in the Glen ,Pantomime Ponies, Ponies by the Sea, Ponies in Harness, Save the Ponies, Special Delivery, The Perfect Horse
Medium: Tan and Tarmac, The Difficult Summer, The Team from Low Moor. Sweet Rock, Sue Elaine Draws a Horse
Dififcult: Jump to the Stars, Ribbons and Rings , Stables at Hampton, Ponies to the Rescue (very difficult)
Easy to find: Bargain Horses: Horses in the Heather, Horses in the Glen ,Pantomime Ponies, Ponies by the Sea, Ponies in Harness, Save the Ponies, Special Delivery, The Perfect Horse
Medium: Tan and Tarmac, The Difficult Summer, The Team from Low Moor. Sweet Rock, Sue Elaine Draws a Horse
Dififcult: Jump to the Stars, Ribbons and Rings , Stables at Hampton, Ponies to the Rescue (very difficult)
Gillian has a new novel under construction: click here to read the first two chapters on my forum.
Acknowledgements:
Many thanks to Susan, Fiona, Dawn, Sarah, Hannah and Konstanze for
all their help with the photos.
Links
There is a Gillian Baxter quiz here.
Gillian Baxter: Series
The Bracken Farm Series
Jump to the Stars
The Difficult Summer
The Perfect Horse
This series is about Roberta (Bobby) and her horse Shelta. The series starts with Bobby at school, escaping her aunt, who is one of the nastiest creations in pony book literature. Relations with her cousin and uncle are not good either, but it is interestng to see how the relationships change over the series.
Bobby meets Guy, owner of Bracken Farm stables, and the next two books cover the development of the stables and Bobby and Guy’s relationship.
The Pantomime Ponies (Magic and Moonshine) Series
Psantomine Ponies
Save the Ponies
Ponies by the Sea
Ponies in Harness
Ponies to the Rescue
Aimed at younger readers, this series is about the two ponies Magic and Moonshine and their adventures. Ian and Angela are the main human interest: two orphans who go to live with their aunt and uncle.
Jump to the Stars
(Evans, 1957) Illustrated by Anne Gordon
Reprinted in pb in 1967 by Dragon, and again in 1978
Roberta lives with her aunt, uncle, and cousin Ellen. They go to Bracken
House School, and ride once a week. Roberta soon finds Bracken
Stables, disapproved of by her school. Guy, the proprietor, buys a mare
Bobby used to ride - Shelta. The Roberta’s horrible aunt, Helen, buys Shelta
but treats her terribly, and then sends her to a sale when she is lame. At
the last moment, Roberta (Bobby) manages to buy her.
(Evans, 1957) Illustrated by Anne Gordon
Reprinted in pb in 1967 by Dragon, and again in 1978
Roberta lives with her aunt, uncle, and cousin Ellen. They go to Bracken
House School, and ride once a week. Roberta soon finds Bracken
Stables, disapproved of by her school. Guy, the proprietor, buys a mare
Bobby used to ride -
but treats her terribly, and then sends her to a sale when she is lame. At
the last moment, Roberta (Bobby) manages to buy her.
Ribbons and Rings
(Evans, 1960) Illustrated by Anne Gordon
Reprinted in pb in 1967 by Dragon
Shaun O’Rorke has come back to England with his brown Spanish stallion, Toreador, after
several accidents racing cars to his first love, horses. He runs the Lang Stables, with the help
of 16 year old Pauline, and Leslie Marsh, who is supposed to be groomed for a sophisticated
social life. What Leslie wants is horses, and that in the end is what she gets, after an
exciting show for them all at Harringay.
(Evans, 1960) Illustrated by Anne Gordon
Reprinted in pb in 1967 by Dragon
Shaun O’Rorke has come back to England with his brown Spanish stallion, Toreador, after
several accidents racing cars to his first love, horses. He runs the Lang Stables, with the help
of 16 year old Pauline, and Leslie Marsh, who is supposed to be groomed for a sophisticated
social life. What Leslie wants is horses, and that in the end is what she gets, after an
exciting show for them all at Harringay.
The Difficult Summer
(Evans, 1959) Illustrated by Anne Gordon
Reprinted in pb in 1967 by Dragon, and again in 1978
Bobby is now working at Bracken House Stables with Guy, but after a
plane crashes on the stables, Guy is injured and Bobby and Heath have
to run the stables. Bobby is still wrestling with the problems Shelta was
left with after her stint with Aunt Helen, and also have to deal with
hostility from Bracken House School, whose pupils’ riding lessons they
badly need.
(Evans, 1959) Illustrated by Anne Gordon
Reprinted in pb in 1967 by Dragon, and again in 1978
Bobby is now working at Bracken House Stables with Guy, but after a
plane crashes on the stables, Guy is injured and Bobby and Heath have
to run the stables. Bobby is still wrestling with the problems Shelta was
left with after her stint with Aunt Helen, and also have to deal with
hostility from Bracken House School, whose pupils’ riding lessons they
badly need.
Tan and Tarmac
(Evans, 1958) Illustrated by Anne Gordon
Reprinted in pb in 1967 by Dragon, and in 1980
Stephanie moves to London, and there will be, she thinks, no horses,
but she finds a riding school in Kensington, and rides there (and in
Hyde Park). She also rides a horse in a show for the American film
star, Ross Collins.
(Evans, 1958) Illustrated by Anne Gordon
Reprinted in pb in 1967 by Dragon, and in 1980
Stephanie moves to London, and there will be, she thinks, no horses,
but she finds a riding school in Kensington, and rides there (and in
Hyde Park). She also rides a horse in a show for the American film
star, Ross Collins.
Horses and Heather
(Frederick Warne, 1956) Illustrated by Sheila Rose
This is one of those stories where children take over a stable. Christine and Colin
Scott, and their cousin, Alison, are supposed to be staying at Edna’s riding school
near the sea, but when they get there, they find she has been taken to hospital,
and so they keep the fort going.
(Frederick Warne, 1956) Illustrated by Sheila Rose
This is one of those stories where children take over a stable. Christine and Colin
Scott, and their cousin, Alison, are supposed to be staying at Edna’s riding school
near the sea, but when they get there, they find she has been taken to hospital,
and so they keep the fort going.
Gillian Baxter - Bibliography 1
Special Delivery
(Methuen, 1967) Illustrated by Elisabeth Grant
Reprinted in pb by Dragon 1970, 1976
Methuen pb, 1977
(Methuen, 1967) Illustrated by Elisabeth Grant
Reprinted in pb by Dragon 1970, 1976
Methuen pb, 1977
The Knightsgate Players
[non pony] (Evans, 1964) Illustrated by Mary Tattersfield
A vague pony connection as the group take themselves and their props off in a horse-drawn caravan! This is about
a group at a co-ed school who write and produce a successful play. As the stage equipment is so good in their
school, one of the masters challenges them to do without it all, and take the play on tour playing in all sorts
of different setups.
[non pony] (Evans, 1964) Illustrated by Mary Tattersfield
A vague pony connection as the group take themselves and their props off in a horse-
a group at a co-
school, one of the masters challenges them to do without it all, and take the play on tour playing in all sorts
of different setups.
The Perfect Horse
(Evans, 1963) Illustrated by Ivan Lapper
Reprinted in pb by Dragon, 1967, 1978
Bobby and Guy are now together, and she and Shelta are now famous.
Bobby’s cousin Ellen asks to come to the stables as a pupil, and asks
them to buy her a horse. Minos is the horse they choose: he never puts
a foot wrong, and is entered at Badminton. Ellen is too scared to ride, so
Bobby does, and it is then that the unthinkable happens: something goes
wrong and the perfect Minos, for whom everything always goes right,
cannot cope.
(Evans, 1963) Illustrated by Ivan Lapper
Reprinted in pb by Dragon, 1967, 1978
Bobby and Guy are now together, and she and Shelta are now famous.
Bobby’s cousin Ellen asks to come to the stables as a pupil, and asks
them to buy her a horse. Minos is the horse they choose: he never puts
a foot wrong, and is entered at Badminton. Ellen is too scared to ride, so
Bobby does, and it is then that the unthinkable happens: something goes
wrong and the perfect Minos, for whom everything always goes right,
cannot cope.
Horses in the Glen
(Evans, 1962) Illustrated by Elizabeth Grant
Children’s Book Club hb reprint
Dragon pb reprint in 1967
Lindy finds the beautiful Cobweb loose on the moor, and decides that it’s
finders, keepers. Once the filly’s real owner turns up, she decides to
teach Lindy. Lindy gradually learns that beautiful though the filly is, there
are other qualities that are worthwhile, especially those in the Highland
pony she rides, Robbie.
(Evans, 1962) Illustrated by Elizabeth Grant
Children’s Book Club hb reprint
Dragon pb reprint in 1967
Lindy finds the beautiful Cobweb loose on the moor, and decides that it’s
finders, keepers. Once the filly’s real owner turns up, she decides to
teach Lindy. Lindy gradually learns that beautiful though the filly is, there
are other qualities that are worthwhile, especially those in the Highland
pony she rides, Robbie.
The Stables at Hampton
(Evans, 1961) Illustrated by Anne Gordon
Ginny rides at a sordid inner city riding school, but after its owner is put in prison, she meets Tamara, who
offers her a job at her dressage stable. Tamara is a difficult character, and Ginny’s time at the stables is not
an unmixed joy. Ginny learns dressage, and after a series of nasty events, Tamara’s true, and actually
quite noble character emerges.
(Evans, 1961) Illustrated by Anne Gordon
Ginny rides at a sordid inner city riding school, but after its owner is put in prison, she meets Tamara, who
offers her a job at her dressage stable. Tamara is a difficult character, and Ginny’s time at the stables is not
an unmixed joy. Ginny learns dressage, and after a series of nasty events, Tamara’s true, and actually
quite noble character emerges.
Sarah, Simon and Margaret spend their spare time helping a young man who runs a delivery round. When he is ill, they carry on, helped by a donkey called Josephine.
